Inverse
by xXxNeonSoundxXx
Summary: Inspired by the movie, Patema Inverted. Nobody really knows what the strange ladder to nowhere in the theater storage room is for; nobody except Nishinoya. After a strange first encounter with the other world on the opposite side of that ladder, he finds himself going back for another look. There's someone there he just has to see. [Nishinoya x Reader]


The room was covered in a thin layer of dust, months of not being used evident in the way all the objects seemed to have a grayish color to them. It smelled of must and mildew, something that tickled the nose and tempted it to sneeze, but doing so would only disturb the collection of filth, spreading it through the air. Light filtered in through the small window high on the wall, the beam of light that passed through a bit faded from the grime that had settled onto the glass. Through that beam, small flecks of floating particles could be seen dancing along with what little wind blew through the open door.

Nishinoya wrinkled his nose, fighting the urge to hack, cough, and sneeze at the intrusive irritants floating around him. He had a goal to achieve and it wouldn't be completed by letting allergies get a hold of him now. With a strong stride forward, he made his way to the farthest corner of the old theater storeroom, passing by wilting props and moth-eaten costumes.

"It's around here somewhere," he muttered quietly to himself.

The first time he had been in the old storeroom, he had been running an errand for one of his teachers. Something about a few scripts needed for class being in one of the boxes littering the room. He had found them easily—the scripts were in English and, even with the help of his teacher and the rest of the class, Nishinoya couldn't understand what they were about, nor did he really care—but he had also found something else in that room that caught his attention even more.

"Great, it's still there!"

Standing in front of the farthest wall, Nishinoya stared at the metal bars that stuck out from the splintering plaster. His eyes followed their path, going up along the wall until they hit the roof where a few discolored tiles marked the end of their ascension. It was a ladder and the place that it led to had been like no other place Nishinoya had seen before.

Looking around him to make sure he hadn't been followed, Nishinoya placed a single hand onto one of the rusted metal bars. It felt gritty underneath his skin as if it hadn't been used in ages. As he began climbing the old, decrepit ladder, he estimated that he had just under half an hour before afternoon practice would start. His visit today would have to be a quick one.

One hand over the other, Nishinoya made quick work of getting to the uppermost rung. Using one hand to keep him in place, he placed the other one flat against the discolored tile above his head, pushing with all his might. It seemed heavier than the first time he had lifted it and he wondered if maybe, his first experience on the other side of that tile had been a dream after all. His doubts were settled when the tile above him finally gave way, popping out of place and allowing him to slide it off to the side. Above him, the crawl space was dark, almost pitch black, but his sharp eyes could make out the shinier metal bars above him, continuing the upward path of their rusted brethren.

It was hard to get up into the crawl space, the one tile that moved leaving very little room for Nishinoya to crawl through. He had tried to pry the surrounding tiles away last time to give himself more space, but they'd all refused to budge, leaving him to get over the claustrophobia. Once he had managed to wriggle his way into the hole, he was surrounded by inky black air. He should've found it strange the way the ladder continued upward for meters even though the roof of the building must've been only a few feet above him, but he ignored that fact as he continued to climb, leaving the misplaced tile where he left it so it could filter in as much light into the darkness as possible.

Minutes must've passed, minutes of just pure climbing, until Nishinoya began to feel a change in the atmosphere. Something in his surroundings was beginning to shift; it was a feeling he still wasn't quite used to, but he was sure the more he visited this secret place, the more he would grow accustomed to it.

Reaching up with a hand, he brushed his fingertips against a broken rung in the ladder. Right next to it, he could see the shining plastic of a sticker, the less-than sticky edges almost peeling off from the wall. Ignoring the way the words on the sticker were completely upside-down from his point of view, Nishinoya began to climb faster. A light flickering above his head signaled what he had been hoping for: he was nearly at the ladder's end.

"[Name], I've come back like I said!"

The single tile that rested next to his exit reminded Nishinoya of the tile he had left back at the bottom of his journey. The first time he had seen this second tile, he had thought he'd somehow managed to turn around on the ladder, climbing back down without noticing the change in gravity. Oh, how he had been wrong.

Wriggling through the second hole, Nishinoya scanned the room. The pristine storage room smelled of flowers today and the light filtering in through the window right next to his head was bright, forcing him to squint slightly. There were scripts on the floor, some of them flipped open to pages with words he couldn't even comprehend—probably English. Racks of brightly colored costumes were lined up against the wall, some of them organized by distinct eras and others organized by size and color. If the room was given a light coating of dust and age, he was sure it would resemble the very room he had come from. Only upside-down.

He climbed up a few more rungs until his full body was out of the stuffy hole, then, with as much wonderment as he'd had the first time, he let go of the ladder and stepped out onto the roof of the room.

"[Name]?"

A movement in one of the clothing racks caught his attention and he looked over just in time to see a girl struggle her way through a plethora of puffy dresses. As their eyes met, he noticed the way her face flushed and it caused a small grin to break out onto his face. She had been waiting for him, just like she said she would.

"You came," she breathed, and Nishinoya had to crane his neck to watch her walk over to the ladder. "I can't believe it; this is real."

A grin broke out onto his face as she placed one of her hands onto the last rung of the ladder—the first rung for her—and she slowly began to climb in his direction. It was still very strange watching her climb, it almost seemed as if she were climbing the wrong way down a ladder, but he supposed he'd have to get used to it if he wanted to keep visiting her upside-down world.

When they were finally eye to eye, Nishinoya could hear her soft breathing, a quiet sound in comparison to the ever present music that played just outside the storage room. [Name] had confessed the first time they met that she wasn't as athletic as he was, so even the simple task of climbing up a few rungs was tiresome. Still, if it meant being able to get closer to the strange volleyball player from the other world, she would do it.

"You really came back," [Name] repeated, her eyes scanning every inch of his face. She had the urge to reach out and touch him, just to make sure she really wasn't dreaming, and her hand wavered midair as she hesitated to reach for him.

Noting her hesitation, Nishinoya took the initiative into his own hands and bumped his forehead against the tips of her fingers, allowing his hair to tangle slightly in her loose grip. He could feel a tint of pink brush against his cheeks as she ran her digits through his hair, smoothing down the spikes and taming them backward; he had to fight hard to hide his embarrassment from such a small gesture of affection.

"Of course I came back," Nishinoya boasted, only slightly offended that she thought he wouldn't. Then, remembering that this world's theater club was actually active, he reeled back his volume and murmured, "I told you I would and I always keep my word."

With a nod of her head and a small giggle, [Name] leaned her head forward, resting her forehead against Nishinoya's. She could feel his breath fanning across the top of her head, moving the loose strands of hair. Her stomach churned along with the butterflies that danced around inside of her, making her feel giddy as she simply enjoyed the boy's presence. Whether it was because she was intrigued by his existence or because she had started to develop feelings for him, she wasn't too sure of.

The scent of her shampoo melding together with the sweetness that was her natural scent was almost intoxicated for Nishinoya, especially when she was this close. Tilting his head up, he buried his nose in her soft locks, inhaling her essence. As his eyes shut for a brief second, he wondered if this was what it was like to feel so desperately attached to someone. It was nothing like his devotion for the volleyball club manager—no, his feelings for [Name] were much different than that—but he was sure the girl from this upside-down world had already claimed a large portion of his heart. Often, he wondered if he'd done the same for her.

"You know, I can't stay up here forever," [Name] muttered, being the first to break off the silent connection the two of them were having. She could already feel the muscles in her arms and legs shaking, the unfamiliar strain from holding herself up on a ladder finally breaking down what little strength she had.

"Oh, right!" Nishinoya took a few steps back, nearly tripping over a light fixture underneath his feet. "You just climb back to your ground then and I'll follow you," he suggested.

Nodding, [Name] fixed her eyes to a spot just below her as she began her slow descent. A few moment later, Nishinoya was following her, his hands latching onto the rungs she let go of one after another, almost as if he were chasing her down. It was a bit disorienting watching the floor grow closer and the ceiling grow farther as he climbed up the ladder and there were a few times he actually had to pause for a moment to regain his bearings.

"There, that's better, right?" Grinning at [Name] as her feet finally reached the safety of her ground, Nishinoya gave her a thumbs up, holding onto the ladder with his other hand.

"Much better."

Once again, silence consumed the air between the two of them, neither party willing to break the comfortable lack of noise. With his eyes intently fixated on hers, Nishinoya was content with just staring; there was something about her and this world that was just so soothing, he didn't feel the need to be his usual burst of uncontainable energy.

[Name] could practically hear her heart beating against her eardrums, the noise nearly deafening as she tried her best not to get flustered by his gaze. Could he tell that he'd been on her mind ever since the day before when she had literally seen him stumbling around the roof of the storage room, lost and confused? Could he tell that the long conversation they'd had was possibly the longest she'd ever had with a stranger and that, despite being terrified of his presence at first, she had quickly grown to admire him? Could he tell that she'd been praying all night, pleading that their chance encounter wasn't just a dream?

Could he tell that she already wanted to be more than just friends?

Leaning forward a bit so her face was just a few more centimeters closer to his—an action which Nishinoya mimicked, bring their face even closer together—[Name] sucked in some air before speaking. "Nishinoya, I—"

"[Name], are you in there? I think the door is jammed."

The sudden voice coming from outside the storage room door startled the both of them and Nishinoya had to cling harder to the ladder to avoid falling off as he reeled backward. In a panic, [Name] turned toward the doorway, noticing how the chair she had shoved in front of it jiggled as the person outside tried to pry the door open.

"Hold on, I think something fell in front of it," [Name] called out loudly enough for the other person to hear, then in a whisper she said, "Nishinoya, you need to go back. I'll try get them to go before they see you."

Taking a step away from the corner of the room, she had intended to greet the other person at the doorway before they could walk in, but a hand grasping onto hers stopped her progress. Turning back toward Nishinoya, she noticed his hand latching onto hers—he had to reach up to grab it—and the way he was staring at her with uncharacteristically serious eyes.

"I can come back tomorrow, right?"

Feeling her heart skip a beat, [Name] could only nod in response, her voice leaving her altogether and causing her to feel a tad breathless. She would be seeing Nishinoya again; he would come to visit and he would prove to her that this all wasn't some sort of odd, series of dreams. Letting go of his hand, she reached up to gently caress the skin of his cheek, feeling the warmth that was building there. It was the reassurance she needed to realize he was existent.

As her hand retreated and she turned toward the still jiggling doorway, the last thing [Name] heard from him was the gentle thump as he jumped from the ladder to the roof above. By the time she looked back, he had already slid the discolored tile back into place, making it seem as if he had never been there at all.

"Tomorrow," she agreed.


End file.
